Composure
by Painted Daisy
Summary: Bella never gave up ballet as a child, and is now auditioning to obtain a place in the Washington School of Ballet. Never one to lose her focus, she is more than a little unsettled when her eye catches the accompanying pianist for the auditions.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

It was safe to say that Isabella Swan was generally not an apprehensive person. She might have gotten butterflies when it came time for the Spring Productions, or a little anxious before she was supposed to compete a solo. But the fear she felt at this very second, was something she never hoped to experience again.

Bella was no stranger to pressure- being a dancer could do that to a person. You learn to expect a lot of yourself, constantly pushing towards an almost unattainable goal. Perfection was always just out of reach, no matter how much of yourself you threw into your art. The pressure put on Bella was unlike that of the other girls in the company she was in. After many years of the hard work, and defiance to settle for anything less than all she had to offer, Bella had been named one of the most promising ballerina's that the Arizona had to offer.

Which is how she managed to find herself here, in the midst of all the other promising ballet dancers, all hopeful to attain the same dreams she herself desired. Bella knew that to even be seen in audition by one of the faculty of the Washington School of Ballet was an honor. Nervously, Bella re-pinned a lose curl from her bun, and adjusted her black leotard. She had only a few more minutes to herself before she had to bare all the talent her eighteen-year old heart had been cultivating, and dance for all she was worth.

Bella's mother, before dropping her off at the airport in Phoenix, had told her that no matter what happened at this audition, to never forget why she was here. Years ago, at the impressionable age of eleven, Bella had told her of the necessity that drove her to dance. She _had_ to dance, or her life would cease to have meaning. Her mother recognized that Bella had always had a bit of a flair for dramatics, but nonetheless, supported her blossoming daughter as much as she could. And that meant encouraging her to take the one last step from all Bella knew and was comfortable with.

Shaking her head to regain focus, Bella looked around at all the other pink tight-clad dancers and slicked-back buns. Everyone had suddenly quieted down, until not a voice could be heard. Bella craned her neck towards the stage, hoping to catch a glimpse of the reason that a group of over two hundred girls had ceased to talk. A young woman, no older than thirty, had walked to the middle of the stage and stood calmly looking at all the young hopeful ballerinas.

"Welcome to the auditions for the Washington School of Ballet. Today will be difficult for some, and harder still for others. The only bit of advice I can give you is to know how much you want to be here. You have all worked so hard to come this far. You need to take in everything you see today. Get it. Learn it. Own it. And sell it to us, for every single little bit it's worth to you."

* * *

_Reviews are very much appreciated! I have about ten chapters planned out for this story, and I'll keep going it as long as people seem interested. This is more or less a prologue to test people's feelings about it._


	2. Chapter 2

The light music of the piano faded as the blonde-haired girl on stage finished her audition. "She had been nearly perfect." Bella considered nervously. The girl rushed past her in a fit of tears, declaring (and quite dramatically in Bella's opinion) that she knew she would never get in after the man in the front row lifted his eyebrow at her when she executed her grande jeté. Bella just rolled her eyes and tried to mentally prepare herself to perform.

Bella knew what was on the line for her. She needed this scholarship, or her dance career was over. Her mother could barely afford to pay for her dance classes and workshops last year, and the extra burden that her college credits would cost would put them on welfare for sure. That wasn't the kind of life Bella wanted for her mother.

The last few hours had been more strenuous than anything Bella had ever thought possible. After an hour-long barre workout, the girls had been separated into smaller (but still quite large) groups to learn the pieces they would be auditioning for the Headmistress and the Admissions staff. The choreography was taught in a total of an hour, and Bella was certain that she had never learned such a complicated dance in such a short amount of time. It was overwhelming and nerve-wracking how quickly she was expected to achieve the "perfection" necessary to a professional ballet company.

"Isabella Swan."

Bella's throat constricted as she stepped out onto the stage, and assumed her position on front stage right. Bella lifted her head looked quickly to the left to check her spacing. Nothing would be worse than running into the piano in the middle of the audition. As she was looking over, a messy head of bronze hair appeared as a bit of paper shuffling was heard behind the piano. Unable to look away, Bella's eyes were met with the most beautiful, deep green eyes. The pianist, who was shockingly young, nodded to her, signaling he was ready to begin if she was. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself, and put on the face of perfect serenity and grace. One wrong move now could destroy everything she had lived and breathed for in the last fifteen years.

Bach's _Piano Concerto in A Minor _filled the auditorium as Bella began to chassé across the stage.

"…and piqué tourne, ronde de jambe, and end in coupé!" Bella thought to herself. While she had to mentally walk herself through each step, she knew she performed like she never had before. Whether or not the Headmistress and the Admissions table approved of it was another matter entirely.

Still holding her ending coupé, Bella chanced a quick glance at the table where the Headmistress was sitting with the rest of the deciding staff. They were in a close group and whispering furtively to each other. Bella then looked over to the pianist, who (she was slightly startled to notice) was watching her with a smile. Bella quickly smiled back, and then blushing, looked back at the Headmistress's table.

The Headmistress nodded once, and announced the next girl for her audition. Bella dropped into a low quick curtsy, and gracefully walked off stage, with the air of false confidence that she was used to utilizing in such situations when she knew her every move was being carefully watched. The Washington Ballet School didn't employ students who were afraid of competition.

After the last dancer had finally finished, the Headmistress walked onto the stage again, and greeted them for a second time, announcing that the results of the auditions would be posted in two hours time. Until then, the dancers were free to walk around t he campus, and there were several restaurants they were more than welcome to make use of.

As soon as the young woman walked behind the lush red velvet curtains, Bella turned to the tiny dancer next to her. Bella started slightly when she realized the grl was already looking at her, with big brilliant blue eyes, and a beaming smile. Bella raised her eyebrow, and extended a hand towards the clearly excited girl next to her.

"Bella Swan. Want to grab some lunch before the results are posted?"

The girl practically glowed with enthusiasm, and in turn, extended a hand to Bella.

"Pleasure to meet you Bella. My name is Alice Brandon. And I would _love_ to go to lunch with you. The other girls here are _dreadfully_ boring and narrow minded."

Bella snorted with disdain, recalling the once-overs she had gotten earlier when she had tied up her clearly well worn pointe shoes. She looked over, and smiled shyly at Alice, and gathered her coat and dance bag,

* * *

After a pleasant lunch with Alice, and talking a good deal about their homes, and families, both girls returned to the campus with a slight disquiet between them. Bella knew if she were to be accepted and Alice were not, or vice versa, she would be terribly sad. It was hard to find such a bright spirit in such a dreary city, and Bella was certain she had already discovered a close friend in Alice Brandon.

Alice squealed and pointed to the wall, and a feeling of dread took over Bella's body. "This is it," she though worriedly "everything you've ever worked for is determined by that piece of paper on that bulletin board."

Bella met Alice over in front of the board, where there was already a large cluster of dancers talking amongst themselves. Bella made her way to the front, and ran her finger down the list of girls that had been accepted into the Washington Ballet School.

"…Askins…Angeles….Bailey….Brandon.." Bella mumbled under her breath

"Hey Alice you made it!" Bella yelled over the crowd to the petite ballerina, who was jumping around desperately trying to get a glimpse of the paper. Alice shrieked in delight, and ran off, cell phone in hand, surely to spread the good news to her family. Bella's attention focused back on the paper.

"Dudley…Fretz…seriously? She wasn't as good as some of the others…." Bella scanned the list even more quickly, desperate to know if it had all been for nothing.

"…..Stanton…Swan. Isabella Swan."

* * *

**A/N:** Hello! I'm so excited about the reviews I got for the story so far, I thought I'd show my appreciation with a quick update. If I keep getting such a good response, I'll be more than happy to update quickly :o)


	3. Dance Terms

_**A/N**__: I apologize for being ignorant to those of you who aren't familiar to the dance terminology used in __**Composure**__. I'm posting this as a chapter for now, and will also have a link in my profile that will build up as the story continues. If you're having trouble with understanding else, or want me to add anything, please don't be afraid to ask_. :o)

-barre- the wooden bar that runs around the wall of the ballet studio at waist height, and which the dancer holds onto during the first part of class - usually referred to as the barre. It helps the dancer find or adjust his/her balance. Exercise done here are referred to as "barre" also.

-chassé- literally means "to chase". A sliding step in which one foot "chases" and displaces the other.

- piqué tourne- "piqué" literally means "to stab". The movement is Stepping directly onto the point of a foot. It's a very sharp and clean movement. The "tourne" is keeping the foot pointed and placed at the knee, while turning.

- ronde de jambe- circular movement of the entire leg. Involves tremendous hip rotation.

-coupé- literally means "to cut". The foot is touching the supporting leg's ankle, with the knee bent, and rotated out as much as possible.

-(en) pointe- the tip of the toe. (pointe shoes) the shoes ballerinas wear when dancing on the very tips of their toes. Usually have a lightweight wood or metal in the toe, so the foot can be supported over the metatarsal joints.


	4. Chapter 3

Hello again all! I apologize profusely for the wait between updates. I'll try to update as much as possible, but it'll probably be about one chapter a week. Thank you so much to my reviewers! It really means a lot that you take the time to let me know what you think.

Now that I've rambled long enough...

* * *

Bella rolled over in her bed and groaned. The alarm was earsplitting, telling her that it was 6:00 and time for her to get up. Slapping the button to make the dreadful noise stop, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, grabbed her shower caddy, and went to the bathroom she shared with the other three girls in the suite.

As she checked the temperature of the water for the shower, Bella wondered what her first day of classes would be like. Would the teachers be sympathetic to the new students, or would they be harsh and unforgiving. Bella shuddered at the thought.

Walking back to the room, Bella looked over to her roommate's bed, only to see it neatly made. She hadn't seen Alice all morning, which she thought was rather odd.

"Good morning Bella!" Alice shouted, as she burst through the door with an exuberance that rivaled that of a cheerleader. Bella winced at the sudden loud noise, and shielded her body from the attack she new was coming. Alice bounced across the room, and flung herself into Bella's closet, tearing out all the tights and leotards she owned.

"Alice. You know we have a uniform right?" Bella asked, nearly questioning her little friend's sanity. "Black leotard, pink tights."

"I know that Bella, but there are so many to choose from. Long sleeve, short sleeve, spaghetti strap…." Alice continued rambling, and rolling her eyes, Bella turned to the mirror on the wall, and began to brush her hair into a slick bun.

* * *

The classroom was full of nervously gossiping girls. Bella stood in the doorway, and peeked into the classroom. Typically enough for girls, they had all broken into small groups and were stretching before class started. Bella walked in, hung her bag on the hooks on the wall, and kicked her shoes off. Grabbing her worn canvas ballet slippers, she walked over to the far corner of the classroom where she recognized a few people from the auditions.

After a few minutes of introducing themselves to each other and quickly warming up, the ballerinas heard a loud bang, and each head snapped up to find the source of the disruption. The Headmistress walked in, followed by the same green-eyed boy that played the piano at the auditions.

Bella's eyes followed the handsome boy's every movement. He walked gracefully, and seemed to carry an air of refinement around him. He slid in behind the gleaming black piano, running a hand over the polished curves almost reverently. At that moment, the boy looked up and scanned the room, his eyes resting on her. He nodded to her in recognition, and the corner of his mouth pulled up into the tiniest of half-smiles Bella had seen. She would daresay she had imagined it, if she hadn't been watching him so closely.

The sudden movement of all the dancers brought Bella back to the present. Everyone was making their way to the barres that lined the room, and positioning themselves to begin the exercises. Bella was more than grateful to realize the dancers were being more or less evaluated today, and then put into classes accordingly.

After class ended, Bella went over to where she had hung her bag. Unfortunately, everyone else had also had the same idea, resulting in thirty eager-to-shower dancers crowding one small corner. Wrinkling her nose in annoyance, Bella stepped back and collided with a solid body.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Bella stammered as she grabbed her ballet shoes she had dropped when she startled. As she straightened, she came eye to eye with the green-eyed piano player.

"Don't worry Miss, it was my mistake. I was just pushing in the piano bench. I suppose we're lucky you didn't fall over that, hmm?"

If at all possible, Bella blushed an even brighter red. "Haha. Very funny." She chanced another look at the boy, whose mouth was twisted, trying to hold in laughter. Bella mentally smacked herself in the forehead, for being such a spaz. "Well thank you very much _sir_, for saving me from what could have been a potentially disastrous situation. I am forever indebted to you." Bella declared sarcastically, adding a curtsy for good measure.

The boy had a huge smile on his face, with impossibly straight, white teeth. He nodded over to the now empty corner, save for Bella's one lone bag. "Ah, right. Well thank you again, Mister…" she trailed off.

"Cullen. Edward Cullen."

"Like _Bond_, _James Bond_?"

"But of course. He's my cousin." Bella couldn't help but think that it might not be that far off of a statement. Clearly the suave behavior and exceedingly good looks _would_ run in the family.

Bella snickered quietly, "Right. Well, thank you then, Mister Cullen. I'll be seeing you."

"'Til next time…" Edward tilted his head questioningly at her.

"Bella. Bella Swan."

"'Til then Miss Swan!" Edward bowed low, and as he straightened, Bella saw a spark of mischief in his green eyes. He walked towards the door, and right before he left the room, he turned around and smiled at her.

* * *

**Reviews are what awesome is made of. :o)**


End file.
